Michael Theise

Emergency Use Only

2011-12-10T18:13:00.001-08:00

I'm just trying to finish up some work before years end, now that most of them are done I have to photograph them. I take the worst photos, one day I hope to figure out how its done. I've never smoked but over the years I've picked up quite a few pipes, go figure. Its probably because their in so many painting I've enjoyed looking at over the years and from time to time I feel a need to connect with some of the artist who have used them as subject matter.

Magic Book

2011-11-12T19:37:00.000-08:00

It's been so long since I've posted anything, people are probably wondering if I still paint. Well I do! And have done quite a few since summer has come to an end. Hopefully I will start posting some of them.

Fifteen And Change

2011-07-10T20:28:00.000-07:00

Money and safes just seem to go together so why not paint the two. In this case the safe is made up, I only had a safe dial and handle to work with. Its good to work like this from time to time. It helps keep you loose and not such a slave to your subject matter. I like doing things like the small piece of paper that sticks out from the bottom of the door, hopefully you just want to pull at it.

Liberty Is Golden

2011-06-16T15:39:00.000-07:00

This painting for whatever reason seemed to take forever. It must be the nice weather and all the golf. It never fails, every summer production seems to go down, but quality should not. Ken Davies gave me good advice years ago, "better to do three really good paintings than five mediocre ones". The advice seems pretty easy and straight forward, but can at times be difficult to live up too. But years later I still find this simple advice one of the most important lessons I recieved in art school.

Money Has Wings

2011-06-03T07:53:00.000-07:00

I feel as if money really does have wings. And after looking at the eagles pictured on some currency it all makes sense, money is suppose to fly off not to be seen again. I am presently doing a larger painting based on this concept which will involve much more currency. I think most people find it easy to relate to this theme.

George Gets A Promotion

2011-05-13T14:14:00.000-07:00

George gets a well deserved promotion from the one dollar bill. Trompe l'oeil stikes again!

Another Rack Painting

2011-05-04T14:48:00.000-07:00

Anybody who knows anything about American art knows Madame X. A painting done by John Singer Sargent. Its well worth a visit to The Metropolitan Museum Of Art in New York to see the original, its amazing. I put "X" in the painting numerous ways. The most obvious is the rack itself, the torn piece of paper and the business card. The card has simply an "X" on it and the symbol of the Met, a reference to where the painting is located. One of the envelopes has a return address to John Singer Sargent. The painting was framed in a ornate molding that Madame X deserves, it was floated in the frame. The screws in the corners make it look as if this is how the painting is being held into the frame.

Letters From Home

2011-04-18T14:56:00.000-07:00

I've always enjoyed looking at rack painting, so every now and then I have to do one. Their fun! One of the difficult things about them is the placement of objects. It has to look random and still have a strong composition. Its tempting to keep adding things and to fill every corner but that doesn't always make for a good painting. In this piece the portrait is a painting of Paul Wayland Bartlett the American sculptor who worked and lived in France. It was done by Charles Sprague Pearce an artist who's work I really admire.

Contemporary Still-Life Paintings at Spanierman Gallery

2011-03-20T16:17:00.000-07:00

Opening March 24 and showing until April 16 at Spanierman Gallery in New York will be the show, Contemporary Still-Life Paintings. It will feature nine artist, my contribution will be trompe l'oeil of course. I posted a photo of the painting Taking Chances because it was featured on the cover of the brochure sent out to announce the show. I have to admit I'm quite proud of it.

Reality Check

2010-09-21T14:49:00.000-07:00

My painting Madame X Desk Blotter is now in the exhibition title Reality Check: Contemporary American Trompe L'oeil at the Brandywine River Museum.The piece is on loan from the New Britian Museum of American Art. The exhibition presents the work of 22 contemporary artist, all of whom demonstrate a high degree of skill in the tradition of trompe l'oeil.

Judging by the crowd on opening night I would have to say realism in art is alive and well. It was a great pleasure to meet the other artist and museum staff. Anybody with an interest in trompe l'oeil should check out the exhibition on line or in person, you won't be disappointed.

William Tell's Dart Board

2010-08-17T20:05:00.000-07:00

A fun painting to do, the title says it all. Not the best photo, but you get the idea.

Spanierman Gallery, Summer Show

2010-07-28T20:49:00.000-07:00

I am pleased to say that my work is now being represented by Spanierman Gallery of New York, NY. They have been dealing in the finest American Art for over a half century. To now be included is quite a thrill. This painting titled 'Monopoly' is being included in the show 'Summer Selections'. The show will include work from 1870 to the present, and will be showing art by Childe Hassam, Eastman Johnson and William Trost Richards to name a few.

Pearfect

2010-07-10T13:28:00.000-07:00

It was brought to my attention that I don't spell very well (you know who you are Jenn), so I decided to post this painting. In case anyone was wondering what someone had noticed, it was that I had spelled contemporary wrong in the title of this blog. How embarrassing in the age of spell check!

A George In The Box

2010-06-02T14:01:00.000-07:00

I really enjoy doing these small pieces. A simple composition and a clever title is all that's needed to do these. The photo is not cropped the best but you get the idea. It is framed in a float style frame, black and simple. I have a few more of these started and hope to finish the up soon.

Another Fool And His Money

2010-05-30T18:46:00.000-07:00

I enjoy changing the shapes of some paintings. This piece hangs on the wall with no frame and is done on a 1/2" board, these two factors help maintain the illusion of a real dart board. With some trompe o'leil paintings a frame can actually hurt the artist attempt to fool the eye, but it's a fine line, most people like their art framed

Harnett?

2010-05-18T20:59:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted anything in awhile, but I have been working on some new paintings. Hopefully they will be finished soon. One of the problems with trompe l'oiel is they take so long to do. In this piece the image torn from a magazine is of the Harnett painting 'The Faithful Colt'. I signed the painting as if Harnett had painted a trompe l'oiel of his own painting, and dated it the year that the original was done, it makes for a nice twist to the piece. This is one of my favorite Harnett painting and I am fortunate that it is located in my state of Connecticut at the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford.

Hidden Assets

2010-04-12T17:53:00.000-07:00

This is one of my larger pieces. It's of some importance items hidden away on the back of a painting. The stock certificate of The New York Central Railroad Company was once a prized asset in the 19th century, but now is a worthless piece of paper.The title of the company is hidden by the money to spell The New Company an ironic twist to what has happened over the years.
The choice of the back side of a fifty dollar bill was chosen because I wanted a play on the word "capital". Another ironic twist, the stock is now worthless and there's Washington at the center of it. Trompe o'leil is filled with hidden mesages and ironies, they can make some pieces more successful than others.Sometimes the concept can be just as important as the execution.
The signature on this piece is on the stock itself among all the other signatures. I rarely sign my work in the typical right hand corner.

Awaiting The Master

2010-04-01T22:26:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe that at one time smoking was so acceptable that painting of smoking paraphernalia were sought after. Not quite the case today. This piece is a good example of how two different trompe l'oiel artist have influenced my work. The subject matter is something Harnett would have painted, but the screws along with a torn off tag is a Haberle motif.
These painting are small, quick and fun to do. I'm now working on some larger pieces that take hundreds of hours to do, but work like this makes for a nice break.

The Big Cats

2010-02-21T15:42:00.000-08:00

After hearing it was the year of the tiger I just had to post some paintings I did years ago of the big cats. When I left art school that's all I did was wildlife paintings. I was fortunate to have access to skins and skulls from the Peabody Museum and a private collection of taxidermy animals. I gave them up for trompe l'oiel, because to do these animals correctly I would have to start traveling to see them in their natural habitat. And that was probably not going to be happening anytime soon. I often wonder what would have happened if I had stayed with painting animals.

The Peale Influence, Delicate And Simple

2010-02-01T13:14:00.000-08:00

The Peale family of artist are some of my favorite painter, especially Raphelle and his brother Rembrant. Raphelles still lifes are so simple, and yet so delicately painted that the objects no matter how small or common suddenly become precious jewel. To say his work has been a big influenced on my still lifes would be an understatement. Here are a few pieces I did with Raphelle Peale in mind.

A Bouquet

2010-01-26T20:15:00.000-08:00

A new small painting. I'm usually not one for soft edges and soft details, but this was a nice change of pace.

A Twist

2010-01-20T19:41:00.000-08:00

Another small piece of a very simple subject matter. These are fun to do and not very time consuming. It makes for a nice change of pace from trompe l'oiel. More small painting to come as I finish them. I would like to finish them all up its time to start some major paintings. Currency will probably be the subject matter.

A Change Of Pace

2010-01-14T21:42:00.000-08:00

I dont do a lot of these small studies, but every now and then I do a series of them to take a break from trompe l'oiel. This peice is only 6x6. Its a old fruit press I bought thinking one day I would do a major painting of it. I like to do these when I feel my battery needs recharging. Trompe l'oiel can take so long and with these the results are so much more immediate, and sometimes an artist needs that. I guess this is my version of a daily painting. I'm in the process of doing more of these and I will be posting them soon, I hope people will find them of some interest.

A Fool And His Money

2010-01-05T19:05:00.001-08:00

This is one of only a few paintings I've done on canvas. It is mounted on board. I just never really got a feel for canvas, even with this painting I gesso the canvas many times to take some of the tooth out of the canvas. I viewed painting money on canvas as a real challenge and should be attempted, after all John Haberle did his trompe l'oiel painting of money on canvas. It didnt seem to effect his work much!
I just dont see the advantage of canvas over board. I'd really like to get some comments about the advantages of canvas. Perhaps I can be persuaded to try it again. After all art is a journey and maybe canvas should be apart of it.

Money To Burn

2009-12-09T19:05:00.000-08:00

Seems kind of ironic to post Money To Burn now, nobody has any and its Christmas! This piece was done some time ago and is now in a private collection. Finding these slides of paintings from years past has been alot of fun to record and now show.This is not one of the best slides but it brought back some fond memories.
Money is such a great subject to paint, it always gets a reaction from viewers and it has a long history in American Trompe L'oiel Painting.Of all the painters of money I have always felt Otis Kaye is the best. His wit and skill combine for some terrrific paintings, I'm always surprised by how few people are know of his work. He is definately worth looking at.
John Haberle is another, there is a show opening next week of his art at the New Britian Museum Of American Art. He has only 40 known paintings, but yet his influence on American Trompe L'oiel is huge. I'm looking forward to seeing the show. I know he has been a major infuence on my work.

Ben's Box

2009-12-05T17:58:00.000-08:00

Going through some old slides I came across some of painting I have'nt seen in years. They are mostly in private collections now. I felt like I was seeing old friends! Over the next couple of days I hope to post a few as I copy them on to the computer.
This is a good example of how I've changed over the years as a trompe l'oiel painter. Now I would not paint the box on the shelf with a background, because this kills the illusion trompe painters are after. The more effective way is to present the box and bill only, no shelf, no background. This would help add to the illusion of reality. I've become a real purist over the years when it comes to trompe l'oiel, the illusion is everything. Please check out my web site there are some good exmples of what I'm talking about.

Finally, A Web Site

2009-12-03T16:14:00.000-08:00

Finally I have a web site! Please check it out at http://www.michaeltheise.com/ . There still a little more work to do but at at least there some painting out there to be viewed. A web site is a new venture for me, and any suggestions are welcomed.

A Diamond In The Rough

2009-08-30T17:28:00.000-07:00

There are times when a title can be as important as the painting itself. Here a piece of sand paper and a playing card make for a make for a clever play of the phrase 'a diamond in the rough'. The setting is simple as are the objects, but they do present interesting textures that bring the viewer in for closer inspection.

Grant's Bowtie

2009-07-27T19:54:00.000-07:00

I enjoy painting money, it's challenging and it's an available subject matter. The fact that it has a place in American art history also makes it appealing subject. John Haberle and Otis Kaye are my favorite painter of currency. Not only do they render the bills to perfection, but they show a clever wit in their work. These artist may also refer to events that are current to the times in which they live in. A clever twist to a trompe l'oiel painting can sometimes be as important as the technical skills it takes to produce the painting.

Keeping contemporary trompe l'oiel fresh with subject matter of today with a nod to the painters of the past, keeps this painting style interesting and a constant challenge.

Bargain Art

2009-07-25T18:58:00.000-07:00

For great subject matter you don't have to look very far, or spend lots of money! Thus the name for this piece is 'Bargain Art'. The painting is done on a 1/2 thick panel. The corners are rounded and the piece is not framed. It just sits on a mantel or table. Many people have picked it up and tried to use the etch a sketch or remove the coin. Much to their surprise they find that it is a painting.

This is a nice example of how a frame would hurt a painting not enhance it. Some of the most successful trompe l'oiel painting can go without framing. Once a frame is added it can take away from the illusion. To deceive the viewers eye is always a trompe l'oiel first goal.